Joshua 1:8-9 (NKJV) “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Objectives: By the end of this section You should have a clear concept of what is discipleship according to Scripture.
Introduction: Wholehearted Discipleship According To Scriptures.
Does the Bible give us a clear concept about discipleship? Would you be able to quote some Bible text that clearly tells us how a disciple should work in God’s kingdom? How can I know if I am leading biblically a Bible class, Sunday school; or in any other department of the church? How should we do the street evangelism according to what the Scripture tells us? Based on the verses we quoted in the beginning of this lesson we know that God teaches us just the same way as He taught Moses, Joshua and all the other leaders in the Old and New Testament. Jesus always referred to Scriptures when HE taught His disciples.
I believe God says the same to you and to me as he said to Joshua. Scriptures shall not depart from our mouth, but we must meditate on it day and night, so that we can live according to it. God commands us to be strong and courageous as well. I think there is only one way that we can be strong and courageous as followers and disciples of Jesus; and that is following Him as He commanded us to do. Jesus gave us the command in Mathew 28:19-21 and also in Mark chapter 16. Mathew and Mark describe it to us how the Lord sent them, and Jesus is sending you and me as well. All who believe and receive Him as it says in John 1:12 are children of God and we are told to go and preach the good news in all the world. Do you know how many people were gathered there when Jesus said it? It were not only His disciples, there were
First of all let us take a look at the Biblical Concept of Discipleship. But we need to understand what the Dictionary tells us about the meaning of "Concept"; and after this, we will research in the Bible this conceptualization on wholehearted discipleship according to the heart of God.
Meaning of Concepcion Compose, idealize, develop and/or expose a concept about (something); to define. Assign judgment of value or note to: conceptualize the performance of employees. Develop and express an opinion or point of view about; Evaluate.
If I understood correctly, what the dictionary says, conceptualizing would be to form a concept: ‘it is the way of expressing and developing an opinion about something or someone.’ Moreover, to conceptualize is the form in which we evaluate the supposed situation, circumstance, or theory. It is our opinion on the subject.
Jesus expressed very clearly what His Father told Him to do and how to convey that message to us. Making disciples is for those who are already in Christ, and maturation as a follower of Christ begins on the first day of the Christian life, and it is a process of constant learning. So, on a daily bases we need to guard in our hearts what God told Joshua.
God made His opinion clear as He sent Moses, Joshua and all the other leaders, He instilled as leaders for His people. And He did the same for the Church that He started with the twelve apostles. We have some good points in the verses stated above and we will address them here.
Five specific things I want to point out on this passage.
a) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, = I believe the Lord gives us the same command, do not let Scriptures depart from your mouth; and we should not replace it with the modern teaching and ways of thinking as the world does.
b) But you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. = We are called to a personal devotional with our God and His word on a daily bases. It is about our devotion, that commitment in studying it. Learning how to make our daily decisions based on the same.
c) For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. = If a child of God obeys this command, I believe it will make it’s way prosperous; there is no doubt on it.
d) Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, = Compare this with the New Testament teaching of the Lord, does He not teach us the same thing? Definitely. Eph. 6:10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” 2 Cor. 12:9-10 “9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” = We all must take this thought line as our logo. “Be strong in Christ Jesus.”
e) For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. = This promise He also gave to His church. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5b.
Evangelism is fishing souls, calling others to follow Jesus. Once the person received Jesus as their Savior, they need to be trained in the Word of God, which is discipleship through felloship with other believers. We must all learn to be fisher of men from the first day on; but teaching them on the way requires knowledge of the Word of God. During these three years they were instructed to go and do the work in pairs; under the leadership of Jesus.
After receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they were instituted by God as the leaders who would found the Church. We should apply the biblical principles of Christian leadership as exemplified and taught by Jesus, and train leaders as Jesus trained; that answers the question.
We must work under someone who already has knowledge in the Word of God; to teach us where and how we can do the work of God. But, it is biblical that we should always do this work under the leadership in the Church of Christ; remembering that we are all members of one body.
Some people claim that because the word "leadership" or "leader" does not appear in certain versions of the Bible or appears only in Old Testament. That there is not enough basis to teach about leadership or even to call someone else a "leader"; Or "Leaders according to the heart of God." The Word of God specifies how leadership should be. God teaches his leaders how to proceed before his people. Let's then look at how the dictionaries describe leadership so we can learn to apply it within the Church.
Blessings on to you all.
Antonina Penner.
A. PENNER PUBLISHING.
Discipleship according the heart of God
ISBN NUMBER: 978-0-9881063-2-1
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